Assessment of hashtag (#) campaigns aimed at health awareness in social media.

INTRODUCTION: The use of social media to disseminate major communications, particularly for campaigns related to days of health importance, is becoming much popular. The use of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook is gaining an integral place in public life online with hashtag campaigns. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to assess the characteristics of hashtag campaigns related to health in social media and to compare three different campaigns in three commonly used social media platforms, namely, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional study which analyzed contents of three health-related campaigns in Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The campaigns were #let's talk (World Health day 2017), Hands up #HIV prevention (World AIDS day 2016), and #No tobacco (World No Tobacco Day 2017). Public posts related to each were searched from three platforms and assessed separately. Source, publicity, credibility, reach outs, and other characteristics were assessed among each campaign and comparison was also done among the three social media. RESULTS: Out of 812 posts, 507 (62.4%) were related to the study. Facebook posts were more related (67.33%), popular (45.05%), and authenticated (28.22%). Among the campaigns, # let's talk was more credible (96.33%) and authenticated (33.94%). Also in that, 57.79% from individual source and 79.82% were awareness related. CONCLUSION: Posts in social media related to hashtag campaigns are more credible, related, and less popular. These factors have to be considered for the campaigns to become an effective tool.

Serum levels of chemokines IP-10, IL-8 and SDF-1 serve as good biomarkers for diabetes-tuberculosis nexus.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation has long been identified as an essential component of both Type-2 diabetes and tuberculosis. Chemokines are low molecular weight proteins which play an important role in both inflammation (diabetes) and immunity (tuberculosis). METHODS: In this study, we measured the serum levels of IP-10, IL-8 and SDF-1 in subjects with Normal Glucose Tolerance (NGT-TB- = 108; NGT-TB+ = 200), Pre-Diabetes (PDM-TB- = 118; PDM-TB+ = 105), Newly Diagnosed Diabetes (NDM-TB- = 105; NDM-TB+ = 63) and Known Diabetes (KDM-TB- = 131; KDM-TB+ = 108), by ELISA. Along with chemokines pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-ɑ and IL-6 were also measured in these groups. RESULTS: While IP-10 levels were significantly reduced in TB+ subjects in all the sub-groups, IL-8 levels were significantly reduced in NDM-TB+ and increased in KDM-TB+ subjects. SDF-1 levels were significantly elevated in TB+ subjects in all the subgroups, except for KDM-TB+. CONCLUSION: Altered serum chemokine levels can alter anti-TB immunity in diabetes patients and can fuel DM-TB nexus.

Circulating levels of high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin and total adiponectin in relation to fat distribution, oxidative stress and inflammation in Asian Indians.

AIM: To look at the association of total and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin with markers of fat distribution, oxidative stress and inflammation in Asian Indians. METHODS: A total of 120 subjects were chosen randomly from Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study. Fasting HMW adiponectin levels, TNF-alpha and oxidized LDL were measured using ELISA. High sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured by a high sensitive nephelometric assay. Lipid peroxidation was measured by Tbars assay and protein carbonyl content was assessed by DNPH assay. Visceral and subcutaneous fat areas were assessed by computed tomography (CT) scan. RESULTS: When stratified based on the tertiles of visceral fat, the levels of total (p=0.03) and HMW adiponectin (p=0.007) were highest in the first tertile followed by tertiles 2 and 3 whereas in tertiles of subcutaneous fat, there was no such trend. With increasing tertiles of Tbars, the levels of total (p=0.03) and HMW adiponectin decreased (p=0.002). The levels of HMW (p< 0.001) but not total adiponectin was also found to decrease with increasing tertiles of Protein carbonyl content. The levels of Total (p=0.02) and HMW adiponectin (p=0.004) were highest in the first tertile of oxidized LDL followed by tertile 2 and tertile 3. With increasing tertiles of TNF-alpha total (p=0.01) and HMW adiponectin (p=0.004) was found to decrease. With increasing tertiles of hs-CRP, Total (p=0.005) and HMW adiponectin (p=0.007)was found to decrease. CONCLUSION: Oxidative stress markers, visceral but not subcutaneous fat and inflammation are associated with total and HMW adiponectin levles in Asian Indians.

Medico-botanical study of Yercaud hills in the eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India.

The study reports medicinal plant survey was conceded in Yercaud hills ranges of Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. The study primarily based on field surveys conducted throughout the hills, where dwellers provided information on plant species used as medicine, plant parts used to prepare the remedies and ailments to which the remedies were prescribed. The study resulted about 48- plant species belonging to 45- genera and 29- families of medicinal plants related to folk medicine used by the local people. Among them the most common plants viz., Asparagus racemosus Willd., Cissus quadrangularis L., Gymnema sylvestre R. Br., Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br., Justisia adhatoda L., Ocimum sanctum L., Phyllanthes amarus Schum. & Thonn., Piper nigrum L., Solanum nigrum L., Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers, Tridax procumbens L. and Zingiber officinale Roscoe which are used in their daily life to cure various ailments.

Association of cystatin-C with metabolic syndrome in normal glucose-tolerant subjects (CURES-97).

BACKGROUND: This study looked at the association of cystatin-C (cys-C) with severity of metabolic syndrome in Asian Indians. METHODS: Five sets of normal glucose tolerance subjects were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES), a population-based study in southern India: 43 subjects with no metabolic risk factors, 44 subjects with one metabolic risk factor, 37 subjects with two risk factors, 40 subjects with three risk factors, and 40 subjects with four or five metabolic risk factors. Metabolic syndrome was defined using National Cholesterol Education Program criteria for adults modified for waist measured using the World Health Organization Asia Pacific guidelines. Serum cys-C was estimated by a high-sensitivity particle-enhancing nephelometry assay. RESULTS: Subjects with four or five metabolic abnormalities had the highest cys-C levels, and with decreasing number of metabolic abnormalities, the cys-C levels decreased linearly (P for trend < 0.001). Regression analysis showed a linear increase in cys-C levels with increasing number of metabolic abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Cys-C levels are highly correlated with the number of metabolic abnormalities in Asian Indians.

Cystatin C and cystatin glomerular filtration rate as markers of early renal disease in Asian Indian subjects with glucose intolerance (CURES-32).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess cystatin C (cys-C) as a marker of early diabetic nephropathy and cystatin glomerular filtration rate (cys-GFR) in Asian Indians. METHODS: Five groups of subjects were studied: Group 1, normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and normoalbuminuria (n = 43); group 2, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and normoalbuminuria (n = 44); group 3, type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with neither microalbuminuria nor retinopathy (n = 40); group 4, T2DM with microalbuminuria but without diabetic retinopathy (n = 40); and group 5, T2DM with microalbuminuria and any degree of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (n = 42). Subjects were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES). Microalbumin concentration was assessed in the urine sample by immunoturbidometric assay. cys-C concentrations were measured in serum by a high-sensitivity particle-enhancing nephlometric assay. cys-GFR was calculated by the formula (86.7/cys-C) - 4.2. RESULTS: cys-C levels were highest in group 5 (1.75 +/- 0.12 mg/L) followed by group 4 (1.30 +/- 0.08 mg/L), group 3 (0.98 +/- 0.04 mg/L), group 2 (0.89 +/- 0.03 mg/L), and group 1 (0.79 +/- 0.18 mg/L, P < 0.001). cys-GFR levels were in reverse order going from highest in group 1, followed by groups 2, 3, 4, and 5. cys-C levels were correlated with age, fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, microalbuminuria, and serum cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: cys-C levels increase and cys-GFR levels decrease with increasing severity of glucose intolerance and are highest and lowest, respectively, in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects with microalbuminuria and retinopathy. In T2DM subjects, cys-C and cys-GFR appear to be useful markers of early renal damage.

Identification & differentiation of Mycobacterium avium & M. intracellulare by PCR- RFLP assay using the groES gene.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: We report a new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay using mycobacterial groES as a target to identify Mycobacterium avium and M. intracellulare in clinical samples. METHODS: The assay was standardized using M. avium and M. intracellulare standard strains obtained from ATCC and was tested with 45 M. avium-M. intracellulare complex (MAC) clinical isolates (Of which 31 were from HIV(+) individuals). The standard and clinical strains were typed with HPLC based mycolic acid fingerprinting. RESULTS: Three polymorphisms (BamHI, BstNI and HgaI) were identified for inter-species differentiation among standard strains; of which, only HgaI was found to be useful in clinical isolates. Of the 45 isolates, 25 were M. avium and 20 were M. intracelluare. MAC isolates, which could not be differentiated by HPLC analysis, were also typed by this method. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The use of mycobacterial groES as a PCR-RFLP target for M. avium and M. intracellulare is a simple and rapid method that can complement HPLC in their differentiation.